Touch The Sky
by AppleCiderr
Summary: Tony Stark's life had simply become a constant cycle of stress and anxiety, and it was starting to become difficult to handle.. Tony just wanted to be free, and to have the choice to do what he wanted and not be used by everyone around him. But such a thing seemed so impossible… Until one day, when an accidental discovery grants him something he could have never been prepared for.
1. Chapter 1

Another day, another meeting with Ross and his group of yes-men. Just like the day before, and the day before that one… Tony wasn't sure why Ross demanded so many meetings; Maybe it was to wear Tony out, or to try and get a tighter grip on the Avengers than he already had. Tony didn't know.

The only thing he _did_ know for sure was that he hated his life.

Ever since he came back from Siberia, things had gone completely downhill. Rhodey was struggling in therapy, Vision would vanish for days on end, Pepper didn't speak to him unless absolutely necessary, and he had become nothing but a tool and scapegoat for Ross.

Some new tech gone haywire? Blame Tony. A meeting with public officials didn't go well? Blame Tony. A sighting of the fugitives known as the Rogue Avengers. Definitely blame Tony.

But when hadn't it been that way? First it was his father, then Obidiah, then Fury and the Avengers, and now Ross. He was nothing more than a human shield to them all, and it left him feeling completely empty.

In fact, it made him wonder… Was there ever a time where he had been free to do what he actually wanted to do? Had there ever been a time where he'd had control of his life? Would he ever be gifted with such freedom?

"Stark!"

Tony jolted upwards, his brown eyes quickly turning to face the source of the noise. Across from him sat an angry hologram of Ross, along with the displeased looks from the other officials at the table.

Once Ross saw he had gotten his attention, he demanded,"Were you listening at any point? This meeting is important, it's not some fancy project you can drop at a moment's notice. I expect responsibility."

The genius took a deep breath in order to pull back the rage that had started to build up inside of him, and forced once of his many for-the-press smiles on his face. Giving a thumbs up, he confidently replied,"Sir, yes, sir! Upgrades for the raft, rogue Avenger details, and Accord business. I heard it all! Genius, remember?"

This seemed to only irritate the man even further. He narrowed his eyes, and sneered,"For someone who claims to be a genius, you are incredibly slow whenever I try to work with you."

"I'm not just working with you, Ross," Tony reminded him,"I'm also working with doctors on Rhodey's prosthetics, working as the new leader of the Avengers, and the-"

He cut himself off, and gave a few short coughs to hide the mistakes. "And the- You know, the Stark Industry business?" He finished, while his heart pounded inside of his chest. He almost spilled the beans about his project to revise the Accords right then and there, in front of the very person who would want to stop him. How much more foolish could he get?

Ross stared at him suspiciously for a moment, but seemed to accept the answer. "I understand that, Stark, but I am a government official giving you an order. My orders are first before anything else. I want these projects done, and done by the end of the week, understand?" He declared.

Tony's eyes widened as he recalled the other dozens of things Ross had ordered him to do. "That isn't enough time! I have other deadlines and projects! I can't finish all that in just seven days!" He exclaimed.

"If you prove to be useless, I can replace you easily. Just because you signed the Accords doesn't mean you are safe!" Ross snapped at him, with eyes that burned with power. "Get. It. Done."

With those final, threatening words, the holograms cut out, and left Tony completely, utterly alone. He stared at the empty chair for a full minute before he let out an exhausted sigh, and slumped forward.

His chest felt tight with anxiety, shoulders weighed down by the impossible tasks with an impossible deadline that Ross had just given him. He buried his face in his hands and shook as he fought to hold back tears of frustration. "What am I going to do?" He whispered aloud.

"Perhaps, Boss…" Friday carefully interjected,"Before you begin any of the projects currently on your list, you should have some food? According to my calculations, you haven't eaten in two days."

Tony ignored her concerned suggestion, just he ignored the agreeing growl of his stomach. He abruptly stood up, and firmly said,"I have a lot of work to do... "

Friday went silent, and only gave weak protests as he got into the elevator and rode it all the way down to his workshop. There he spent the next four days frantically working through all the projects that had been assigned to him. He never ate, he only drank coffee (until he ran out) and Dum-E's smoothies, and only slept for thirty minutes in between those days.

It wasn't like anyone cared, anyways. He received no calls or texts from anyone during those four days… Not even Rhodey.

It was on the fourth day that the stress finally caught up to him. He had been in the middle of a coding session when, out of nowhere, a burst of rage hit him. He stopped, and turned his eyes down to the keyboard. The sight of it… Suddenly made him angry.

"What's… What's the point?!" He yelled, and flung the keyboard off of the workshop desk. It crashed to the ground, pieces of it tumbled all over the floor, which made Dum-E, U, and Butterfingers jump in shock.

He jumped to his feet and shoved the chair aside as he began to pace. "Why am I doing this?! Why am I even trying?! No matter what I do, Ross will just give me more shit to do! If I make more Stark-Tech, people will just want more. If I fix the Accords, the Rogues will all still hate me! What's the point of it all?!"

"Boss-"

"A-and when they come back, what do I expect? The friends I once had? Ha! Bullshit! They'll hate me, just like the media and Ross. Who knows? Maybe for old times sake, Steve will shove a hunk of vibranium in my chest! Maybe this time he'll actually kill me and I can have some fucking relief!"

"Boss!"

Tony gave a laugh, a hateful, tortured laugh. "Who am I kidding? Even in death I wouldn't be free…" He croaked,"I'm a murderer, a monster… All I do is hurt the people I love. I'm going to hell… I'm going to burn in hell. But I deserve it! I deserve it all!"

"I know that! B-but…" He threaded his fingers through his hair. "I know I don't deserve it… But still… I just want to be free… Why can't I just like my own life?_ WHY CAN'T I BE FREE?!_"

"Boss!"

Friday's frantic voice finally managed to break through his panicked rambling. He jerked up while he gasped for air, looking towards the computer. "W-what?" He managed to force out when he saw the red flashing on the screen.

"Boss, something strange is happening in the sky outside. I'm getting readings of magic, but it is unlike magic we have scanned before," She told him.

Tony's curiosity returned, which helped him push aside the panic that still burned within him. "Seriously?" He asked as he called for his newest Iron Man suit. "You're not shitting me?"

"I am not," Friday firmly declared,"It is spreading all throughout the sky, boss. Our scanners cannot seem to identify eighty-seven percent of its contents."

Suited up, Tony quickly flew out of the compound and turned his eyes to the sky. Instantly, he stopped in his tracks, and let out a gasp of surprise.

The sky was filled with streams of rainbow colored light, different colors melded together and starting to spread all throughout the sky. It looked like the northern lights, but if felt… Warm… and comforting.

"Friday… Are you seeing this?" He whispered as he slowly flew closer to the streams of magical light.

The AI sounded just as curious as he was when she replied,"I am, Boss. So is all of the world… Apparently it can be seen from everywhere."

Tony whistled inside the suit. "Damn… I wonder what is causing it," He whispered to himself, and flew alongside one of the streams towards the green trees nearby. "Can you get a scan?"

Friday attempted to scan the light, but the results were inconclusive. This time, it was ninety-six percent unknown. "I would need to be closer in order to get a better reading. The distance is causing some malfunctions with the scanners, but I would advise against-"

"A front and center view coming right up!" Tony eagerly replied. He ignored the AI's protests and flew right up to one of the blue and gold colored lights, and continued,"Full scan, Friday, take your time. I wanna know as much as we can."

"...Yes Boss…" Friday replied in what sounded like an annoyed tone, but Tony ignored it in order to continue his admiration of the strange lights.

Even though they were so close to them, he felt no hostility. There was no immediate sense of danger. The streams of light were comforting, almost like being wrapped up in a big blanket. It made him want to reach out and touch it, he wanted to get closer to that amazing feeling.

When he started at those lights, however, he felt something even more. It was like he was the closest he had ever gotten to the true desire in his heart… The ability to be-

"BOSS!"

A red light flashed on the side of the screen, and Tony tried to turn around, to fly out of the way, to do anything… But it was too late. Something burning hot slammed against him, as if it had completely ignored his suit, and hit him straight on.

Suddenly there was a burning fire in his body that felt like it was tearing apart his bones and muscles and overwhelmed his senses with the extreme pain and boiling heat. The wind howled in his ears, he was falling towards the ground, and then he knew no more.

* * *

Rhodey had been at one of his many physical therapy appointments when the commotion started. The room he, his doctor, and therapist had been in was suddenly doused in rays in a myriad of colors as the strange streams of light outside spread out across the New York Sky.

"What in the world is that?" His physical therapist exclaimed, backing up towards the door and pressing her clipboard against herself in a weak form of protection.

The Colonel found that he couldn't seem to come up with any idea, all he could think of was that it was the next big threat for the Avengers. Surely it had to be, what else could cause such an anomaly? But who caused it, and why?

_Tony might know! _He realized, reaching into his pocket and pulling out his phone. _I know Ross has been keeping him busy, but he wouldn't waste any time trying to figure out what is happening._

But when he listened to the phone, it rang and rang, and then went to voicemail. Instantly, Rhodey frowned, Tony never let his calls go to voicemail, he always made time to speak to Rhodey, even when he was extremely busy.

He tried to tell himself that he was likely distracted by Ross and his bullshit projects, or maybe he was already hurriedly studying the strange appearance of the lights… But the appearance of the lights in the sky and Tony not answering his calls couldn't be a coincidence. It made him feel like… Something bad had just happened.

He flew through his contacts, pressing a different familiar number, and rolling himself towards the exit. "Hey, Happy? I'm gonna need a ride to Avengers Compound…"

* * *

When Tony woke up, he felt warm in a very strange way; It felt like he had a nicely stoked fire inside of himself, that kept his whole body at a high, but perfect temperature. It actually felt rather… Comforting.

But that comfy feeling was only able to distract him for less than a minute, as his mind quickly began to recall exactly what had happened before he fell unconscious. _The lights… Friday was scanning them and then they hit me and…_

He forced his heavy eyelids open and had to blink them several times in order to clear the blur. When Tony could finally see, he found himself laying stomach-down in the middle of some luscious green trees.

As he looked at the nature around him, he noticed something else. His vision was suddenly extremely sharp, and allowed him to see almost everything around him to the tiniest detail. He could see the mice that dashed quickly through the grass, the bugs that climbed up the side of the tree trunk that was several years away, and the details on even the smallest leaf.

Curiosity took over the man instantly, and his mind rushed to come up with ideas on what had happened._ I bet those lights in the sky, and the one that hit me, had something to do with it! _He thought excitedly._ I need to get back to the lab and do some tests!_

He shifted his position, placed his arms in front of him, and was about to push himself up when he saw it. His hands… No, what he saw below him wasn't hands at all. He saw long, blue limbs with flecks of gold, and at the end of the feet were sharp black claws.

_What? Wait, what?! _Tony thought in shock, slowly willing his brain to lift his left arm and flex the claws. To his horror, the arm responded… _Oh my god._

Heart pounding, Tony turned around to look behind him and squeak in shock. His back now had golden and black spikes, along with appendages that looked exactly like wings, and a long tail with fins at the end. He lowered his head, looking between the arms and seeing a blue scaled stomach and black legs that painfully resembled the front ones.

He looked around frantically, and found the remains of his iron man suit nearby. He stumbled towards it as he nearly tripped over the blue wings several times, he shoved his face against the reflective surface, desperately hoping he would see his face.

The face that stared back at him in the suit shard wasn't his reflection, it wasn't even human, not even close. It was… A dragon.


	2. Chapter 2

Tony stared at the reflection in complete and total shock, his heart pounded against his chest, as he tried to understand what he was seeing. _Impossible… I'm dreaming! I'm hallucinating! I have to be!_

He brought his foot up to his face, running it across the side of his face while desperately hoping it was all just some dream, and that he would feel his soft human skin instead of the hard blue and gold scales he saw in the reflection of his tattered suit.

But the clicking of his claw running across the scales forced his mind to completely register what had happened. He was a dragon, an actual fucking dragon.

A whimper escaped his mouth, and his blue ears flattened against his head in reaction to his emotions. He jumped at the sight, and quickly stumbled away from the Iron Man suit. He turned in a circle, looking around desperately for an answer, an explanation, anything.

But he couldn't seem to focus, not with all the new things he could hear, see, smell, and feel. It was as if his sensed had been heightened to an overwhelming degree, and it only served to make him feel even more disoriented.

He gritted his sharp teeth, shaking his head to try and clear the impending headache. _I have to get back to the compound.. I have to…_ He looked at all the landscape that surrounded him. _Where… Where is the compound? Which way is it? I can't remember…_

Tony huffed nervously, his claws digging at the grass as he tried to recall where he had fallen from. Eventually, he looked at one of the thinner trees, and tilted his head. _I think… I think it is this way._

He slowly began to hobble past the trees, stumbling with every step as he tried to get used to the bizarre feeling of having four legs and claws, and dragging his heavy wings behind him. He lowered his head to stare down at them as he walked, slowly putting one foot in front of the other, and again, and again.

Unfortunately, since he was so focused on his feet, he didn't realize that the ground suddenly turned into a steep hill. His clawed foot stepped down, catching him off guard, and sending him tumbling down the hill in a flurry of limbs and wings.

His body crashed against a tree, and the weight of his tumbling dragon body was enough to rip the tree out by its roots, which sent it crashing into another tree, and becoming trapped in the branches of it.

Tony blinked quickly to stop the spinning of his vision, one of his wings wrapped around himself while the other was uncomfortable tucked underneath him. _Okay… So, that wasn't the right way. _

He rolled onto his belly, freeing his wings and letting them flop back onto the ground. He got to his feet, and once again took in his surroundings. It seemed he had fallen into a small cove, with high walls on all sides.

The genius turned dragon let out an angered growl, looking at the high walls. _I can barely walk, how am I supposed to get up this?! _He thought, walking back towards the way he came, only to be tugged back.

He whipped around, and noticed that his annoyingly long tail had someone managed to get trapped under the partly fallen tree. He felt a sudden anger rise up in him, growling even louder as a fire seemed to burn inside of him.

The fire rose up even further, and an instinct overcame him. He roared and sent a blast of fire at the tree. The impact made the trunk jump into the air, and roll slightly to the side. He quickly yanked his tail out from under him, wrapping it protectively around his lower body.

It took a second for his anger to fade; Once it did, he found himself staring at the charred tree in awe. _How did I do that?_ He wondered curiously_. I was just so angry and then all of a sudden I could blast fire…_

He padded up to the scorched tree, letting his claws run over the sizable mark he had left, and strangely feeling a bit of pride. His golden eyes filled with hope, and he turned his eyes back to the sky. If I could figure out how to fly, then I could fly back to the compound!

Turning his head to his wings, Tony tilted his head, and raised them up the slightest bit. _But… How do I do that?_

The genius backed up towards the hill he had fallen from, trying to pump himself up. It's probably a lot like flying in the suit, I just need to figure out how to do it. I can do this! I got this, I'm a genius after all!

Tony burst into a run and opened his wings in preparation to take off, only to trip over his own feet and crash back onto the ground. He quickly pulled himself back up, backing up again, and taking another running start, this time focusing more on his legs.

He opened his wings, flapping hard a few times, but unable to get any air. He skidded to a stop at the other end of the cove, and huffed in frustration. _Come on Tony, you can do this, you can do this!_

The genius burst into a run again, flapping hard and pushing himself off the ground. He flew for only a few seconds before his body started to turn one way involuntarily, which sent him careening towards the hill and crashing back down to the ground.

This time, Tony didn't even try to get up. He let out a loud sigh, his ears drooping in sadness. _Who am I kidding? I can't do this, I'm not supposed to be able to do this! I'm human, not a dragon, of course I don't know how to do it!_

He whimpered and pressed his wings closer against his body, curling up in sadness. _What am I going to do? _He wondered in fear.

"You're giving up already, hatchling?"

Tony jolted upwards at the sound of the voice, whipping around to face the source. Standing on top of the hill he had fallen off of was a large, green dragon with a dark green underbelly and black horns just above its' large ears. Her purple eyes stared down at Tony, awaiting an answer.

The genius turned dragon was so surprised that it took him several seconds to even formulate a response. "Y-you're a dragon…" Was all he managed to force out of his mouth.

The green dragon tilted her head, and let out a purr of amusement as she started to descend down the steep hill gracefully. "I am," She agreed,"And so are you."

"I'm a human, I'm not a dragon," He weakly tried to argue.

"Oh really?" The green dragon questioned,"That's interesting, because in all my years, I've never seen a human with scales, wings, and the ability to bring fire, and I've been around for a long time."

Tony flattened his ears against his head with a huff. "Well, I was human…" He corrected,"But then that weird magic light thing hit me, and I woke up like this!" He motioned a claw to his scaly form.

Her purple eyes softened, sitting across from him. "I know, hatchling, I was there when you fell," She explained,"When you changed, I decided to separate from the rest of my colony and follow you, I'm glad I did."

Curiosity got the best of him, and he squirmed excitedly. "Colony? You mean there are other dragons?" He asked in surprise, gold eyes glowing with interest.

"There are tons of other dragons, hatchling, and you shall meet them soon enough," She said,"Because we are going there together."

Tony blanched, and quickly backed up. "What? No, I can't," He said,"I have to go back to the compound, I have projects to finish and deadlines to meet! I need to go back and get help to change back!"

The large green dragon spread her wings and began to fly upwards, the strength of those wings making the trees sway. "Humans cannot help with this, silly hatchling!" She said, her talons reaching out and grabbing Tony gently with them. "The only ones who can help dragons are dragons!"

She took off into the night sky, high above the very forest that they had just been in. The wind howled in Tony's ears, his eyes watching in awe as the suddenly tiny and insignificant world underneath them passed by.

Somehow, the genius found that it was even more beautiful than when he saw it in the Iron Man suit… As a dragon, it didn't feel like some ability he had given himself, It felt… Natural, and he loved every second of it.

Tony pushed away the nudges of his mind to turn human and get back to work as soon as possible, closed his eyes, and let himself enjoy something for the first time in a long time.

* * *

The Avengers compound was dark, and eerily quiet when Happy and Rhodey arrived. Tony's car was in front of the compound, but there was still no sign of him.

"Tony?" Rhodey worriedly called, letting Happy roll him through the garage, the workshop, and the kitchen in search of their missing friend. Still, there was no sign of him anywhere.

Happy seemed just as concerned as him. "Maybe he already managed to get some kind of reading on those lights and went to his workshop?" He suggested.

Rhodey gasped, and rubbed his temple in frustration. "Of course? How could I forget? He probably has been down there this whole time!" He exclaimed,"Maybe he's even been watching us on the cameras and laughing."

The two of them chuckled at the idea and hurried over to the elevator… But, it never came up. Instantly, dread refilled Rhodey's system. _Friday always sends it up as soon as she knows someone is waiting to use it._ He frowned. _Actually, she hasn't even said a word! What if something happened?!_

He quickly leaned forward and pressed the button, manually bringing the elevator up. He exchanged a nervous look with Happy once it arrived, before letting the man push him into the elevator.

When the door to the workshop opened, they were greeted by the sight of a smashed keyboard, and other items from Tony's desk strewn all over the floor, while the holographic projection remained opened and left behind.

Rhodey noticed right away that the holographic screen had a red button displayed on it, which read 'emergency restart'. He leaned forward and pointed to it. "Happy," He whispered, keeping his eyes on the button.

As soon as Happy noticed the button, he quickly pushed them closer and pressed the button. A loading screen appeared, quickly filled, and then the lights of the compound turned back on.

"Thank you for bringing me back online," Friday's voice calmly.

Rhodey, unable to wait any longer, exclaimed,"Friday! What happened here? Where is Tony? He didn't answer his phone."

Friday hesitated to answer for a few seconds. "I… Do not know what happened," She admitted,"Boss went to investigate the lights in the sky. But, as I was scanning it, something flew directly towards Boss and hit him. I was forced offline, and the suit is offline as well."

"Of course Tony got too close," Happy huffed in frustration, before turning back to the computer to nervously ask. "Can you locate the iron man suit now?"

After a few seconds of beeping, Friday declared,"It is still offline. But I know the location."

"Great, send it to the War Machine. I'm going to find him," Rhodey said, taking control of his own wheels and rolling towards where the suit was.

Happy cringed and followed after him. "Rhodey are you sure that's a good idea? Your legs-"

Rhodey flinched, but kept rolling as he angrily said,"I'm fine! If Tony's in danger, he's going to need backup! You can watch on the computer from here! It'll be fine!"

Without listening to any more of his friend's protests, Rhodey forced his way into the War Machine suit and flew out of the workshop without another word. The location of the suit blinked at the side of the screen and he followed it, hoping desperately for any sign of his best friend.

When he was right above the location, he noticed a gleam of gold and red and quickly descended. The second he laid his eyes on the remains of the suit, however, he gasped in horror.

He could barely even tell that the mangled remains were an iron man suit at one point, there were pieces of shrapnel from the suit embedded in nearby trees, and buried deep inside. It almost looked as though something had violently torn the suit apart from the inside out

Rhodey knelt down, spreading the pieces out and looking around the grass. He saw no signs of a body, not even a tiny speck of blood. "Oh this is bad…" He whispered,"Friday, inform Ross that Tony has gone missing. We need to start searching right now!"

"I will do so right away," Friday said in his ear, while Rhodey gathered some of the remains of the suit in his shaking hands. A few moments later, Friday spoke again. "Ross is requesting a meeting at the compound immediately."

Rhodey gave a numb nod, and said,"Let's head back now." They took off into the air, speeding through the sky back towards the compound once more. As they flew, the only thing Rhodey could feel in his heart was worry and fear, and the only thing he could focus on was the many deadly things that could have happened to his friend.

_Tony, where are you?_

* * *

They flew for a long time, they passed over the ocean, and over more land just as the sun started to rise before the green dragon finally began to slow down in front of a heavy forest . She descended to the ground, gently placing Tony down before landing herself.

The genius turned dragon tilted his head up, looking at the thick trees in front of them. "Where are we?" He asked her curiously.

"Our nest, hatchling," The green dragon said,"Follow me, we're almost there." She ducked down into the trees which, to Tony's surprise, seemed to spread out and open up for her.

He trotted after her, nearly tripping over his own feet several times. They weaved through the forest, and eventually stopped in front of extremely thick tree trunks with no opening, with branches that weaved around them.

The green dragon leaned down, and pressed her nose against the bark. Once again, the trees opened up into an archway, revealing a tunnel made of tree trunks. "Come, we're almost there," She said, and crawled into the tunnel.

Tony quickly followed after her, not waiting to see if the tunnel would close. After what felt like an eternity, the tunnel opened up to a sight that made Tony's jaw drop in awe.

There was a gigantic tree in the middle of a vast clearing that was so high it wasn't possible to see the top, with branches that spread out and leaves that created a protective dome that blocked out the outside world. There were dozens of dragons all over, resting on branches or rocks, or drinking out of the lakes that were nearby.

"Whoa…" He whispered aloud, turning to face the green dragon. "This place… This is your nest?"

The green dragon gave a gentle smile, nodding her head. "Welcome to the nest, hatchling," She declared.

Tony smiled at her thankfully, and turned back to look at the beautiful tree. His admiration was cut short, however, when two more dragons flew down and descended in front of them.

One of them was a completely black dragon with a long neck, horns that curled up against the sides of their neck, and glowing red eyes. The other was a red dragon with a brown underbelly, with sharp spines and a tail with spikes at the end, with their amber eyes glaring at Tony.

The black dragon turned their red eyes to the green dragon. "Leaf Wing, who is this stranger?" She asked, her voice calm and commanding as she waited for an answer.

Tony, suddenly realizing just how out of his depth he was, lowered his head, flattened his ears, and turned his head to the ground.

The green dragon, Leaf Wing, lifted her large wing and let it settle over Tony. "This is the hatchling I stopped to rescue, Falling Shadow," She introduced,"He needs our help."

The red dragon snarled, revealing its sharp fangs. "I don't believe it," He snarled,"I've never seen him before, and he smells strange… Like a human."

"That's because he was one," Leaf Wing admitted,"In our journey to this world, the Tree chose to give him our form. I saw him get hit and fall, and brought him here."

Falling Shadow tilted her head curiously, but the red dragon still didn't look happy. "We can't let him stay with us," He snapped,"He's a human! He'll tell them where we are, and it will be the Dark Ages all over again! He must leave now!"

"Ember Roar," The black dragon interrupted,"If the Tree gave him our form, she must have had a reason to believe he deserved it. We cannot turn him away."

He balanced, turning to the female dragon. "But…" He sighed, slapping his tail against the ground, getting up, and stalking away.

Falling Shadow turned back to them. "Thank you for bringing him, Leaf Wing, you may take a well earned rest," She said, and settled her red eyes on Tony. "Hatchling, follow me."

Leaf Wing pulled her comforting wing away, and nudged his shoulder. "I'll see you again soon," She said, and then padded towards the tree.

Tony nodded in her direction, and wearily followed Falling Shadow to the the large roots of the tree. In a nook, there was a small pile of what looked like dead animals. She picked one that looked like a rabbit up, and placed it in front of Tony. "Eat."

The genius turned dragon cringed at the idea, and shook his head. "Uh… I think I'm good for now, thanks," He said, ignoring the persistent nudging in the back of his mind that wanted him to gobble it down in one bite.

The black dragon sat down across from him, her smooth tail curling up against her scaled legs. "You have many questions," She deduced.

Tony dug his thick claws into the earth beneath him, nodding quickly. "Of course I do! How couldn't I? This is all something out of a fantasy novel!" He exclaimed,"I mean, I didn't even know that dragons were real!"

"That is the point," Falling Shadow explained,"Before the Dark Ages, we did live on Midgard with humans. But your people were relentless, and hunted even the most peaceful of dragons. This world became too violent for the magical kind, so we left for our own preservation."

Tilting is head, Tony guessed,"You said Midgard… So I'm guessing that means the dragons moved to Asgard."

The female dragon nodded her head. "Quite correct," She said,"You are very intelligent, hatchling, especially for a human."

Tony frowned, something still didn't add up. "But, if you left Midgard because of a reason like that… Why come back?" He asked.

Falling Shadow's face turned sad. "We had no choice," She explained,"Asgard has fallen, it was completely destroyed, so the Tree had to move, and we came with it."

"Asgard fell?!" Tony exclaimed, jumping to his feet. "But what about the Asgardians? Are- Are they okay?"

The dragon closed her eyes. "As far as I know, they are heading towards Earth as well," She replied,"With no home, the King will likely set up a new home in their ancestral home."

Tony sighed, letting his shoulders slump in relief. _Thank God… _He thought. _Thor, you and I are going to have a conversation when you get here. I want to know exactly how the fuck the 'mighty' Asgard fell. _

Falling Shadow tilted her head. "Hmm… You are very knowledgeable for a human. Perhaps that is why the Tree chose you," She guessed.

"You and Leaf Wing both said that 'the Tree chose me," Tony mentioned, his eyes looking at the large trunk. "I… I don't understand, what do you mean by that?"

The regal dragon turned to admire the tree as well. "I'm sure you've figured it out by now, but this isn't any ordinary tree," She explained,"The Asgardians call the tree Yggdrasil. It connects the nine worlds, and used to inhabit Asgard. But now, with the fall of Asgard, it has returned to Midgard."

She motioned her snout to the sky. "The magic in the sky was caused by her return, while we traveled alongside it," Falling Shadow then looked down at him curiously. "And, it seems like Yggdrasil chose to turn you into one of our kin."

"But _why?_" Tony questioned, feeling overwhelmed by the information he was given.

"We cannot know the answers to all the questions in the world," Falling Shadow replied,"But I know that if Yggdrasil chose you, it was because he saw in you the heart of a dragon. That, to me, is reason enough to let you join our colony."

Tony's golden eyes widened in surprise. "Really?" He asked,"Even though I am trying to turn back into a human?"

Falling Shadow nodded. "You are one of us now, hatchling," She said,"And dragons help their kin. If becoming human again is really your wish, we will help. But, while you are in our form, you must follow our laws. Do you understand?"

The genius turned dragon was conflicted at first, did he truly want to make such a commitment. But then again, how could he say no? The Tree had chosen him, Leaf Wing and Falling Shadow had been kind to him. He needed their help, so he would have to agree.

"I understand," He said with a nod.

Falling Shadow purred happily, and replied,"There is only one more thing to do then. You must take your second name. Every dragon has two. The second is assigned at birth, and the first is earned later. Though you have a human form, your dragon form is newborn. So, you need a name."

She stood up, and declared,"As leader of our colony, I am the one who gives names. So, if you are ready, I shall grant you your name."

Tony stood up, puffing his blue scaled chest out proudly. "I'm ready," He said.

Falling Shadow lowered her head down to his, pressing their snouts against each other as she declared,"I give you the second name Wind, in honor of the winds of change that brought you into our colony. Wear it with pride, and use it well."

Tony closed his eyes as he listened to her, and shuddered at what felt like a warmth of magic flowing into him. It was if the Tree itself had approved of the name he had been given, and had accepted him as part of the colony.

When Falling Shadow pulled away, he quickly lowered his head. "Thank you, for helping me," He said.

"No need to thank me, Wind. It is what kin do for each other," Falling Shadow said, spreading her wings and taking off into the sky.

He watched her go, and found himself feeling pained by the statement. _Kin help each other… Hmph, try telling that to the Avengers. _He thought sadly, his ears drooping with those thoughts._ I thought they were family, but look what happened there. Is it even possible for me to have a family? Do I even want to try?_

"Hey, hatchling!" Leaf Wing's voice called, breaking through his saddened thoughts. He turned, seeing the green dragon nearby, sitting with a group of other dragons. Taking a deep breath, he picked up the prey Falling Shadow had given him, and hurried over to her.

He sat down next to her, placing the rabbit down without eating it still. There were three other dragons with Leaf Wing. A very small yellow one with excited blue eyes, an older dark green one with broken spines, and a silver dragon with black specks.

Leaf Wing nudged him. "Come on, out with it!" She said excitedly,"What is your second name?"

"Oh… Well, it's Wind,``he revealed.

The small yellow dragon gasped. "Wind?! That's so cool!" He squeaked, turning around to pout. "It's way better than my stupid name."

The dark green dragon growled at the smaller. "Sun!" He warned,"Be polite, your name is very nice as well."

Tony chuckled and lowered himself down. "He's right, Sun," The genius declared,"I mean, you're named after a giant ball of fire! How cool is that?"

Sun perked up, a baby-tooth grin appearing on his face. "Yeah! I am!" He agreed, and then puffed up proudly. "But I can blow a ball of fire WAY bigger than that!"

He reared his head back and opened his mouth wide, fire gathering in his mouth. But before he could send the blast flying, he accidentally inhaled. Sun quickly hunched forward, coughing up smoke and weak sparks.

Leaf Wing rolled her eyes at his antics, nudging Tony's side. "Hatchlings…" She muttered.

"What?!" Sun exclaimed,"What do you mean 'Hatchlings?'"

Leaf Wing gave a mischievous grin. "Hatchlings are annoying!" She replied.

The small yellow dragon motioned to him. "But Wind is a hatchling too!"

"Yeah, but I _like_ Wind," Leaf Wing countered.

Tony chuckled at Sun's antics, and found that he seemed to be naturally relaxing in their company. It didn't feel forced, it felt like he actually was being included, not that they were required to like him.

He looked down at the rabbit and decided to give into his growling stomach. He knelt down, taking a big bite and listening to the banter next to him. A warm feeling filled his heart, and he couldn't stop the smile from climbing onto his face.

_You know what?_ He thought to himself._ Maybe this won't be so bad… I don't mind being Wind the dragon for a little while._


End file.
